Ktantanim Balev

Pictures of essential play items for my younger self:                   Quotes that I feel summarize what play represented for me in childhood:   I feel that when I was growing up, our teachers and the grown-up in my life supported and encouraged our play. For instance, the curriculum in Early Childhood was mainly focused on providing children with “Natural play experience”, Wardle (n.d.).There was no rush for fostering academic studies, rather than allowing us to explore early literacy skills and numbers through play, and instilling phonological awareness through rhymes and music. I have vivid memories of myself as a young child playing and interacting with my teacher, as she took an active role in our play rather than observing only our play and learning process. The same was with my parents that encouraged us to play with our friends and played with us mainly outdoors. In my opinion, there is a huge gap betwe...

I have several circles of relationships in my life. Some are personal, some professional, and some started as a professional connection and became closed friendship and a source of support and inspiration. My first and most cherished circle is family and it includes my parents and my nuclear family which is my relationship with my children and husband. This relationship taught me the power of unconditional love and endless support. Another circle of relationships is the one I have with my friends, that some go way back with me since my childhood, which demonstrates that meaningful relationships can maintain time and distance. This kind of relationship is characterized by loyalty. Lastly, my third circle is my professional relationships with my mentors, colleagues, and college instructors. These relationships are defined by mentoring, guidance, and professional development and growth. I feel that my relationship with my husband is the main and the most supportive system I have. T...